Process and apparatus for the treatment of material lengths

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to a process and apparatus for the treatment of materials which comprises a heat-insulated treatment chamber, a plurality of sieve drum means subjected to a suction draft rotatably disposed within said treatment chamber, fan means for producing a suction draft and for circulating the treatment medium in said treatment chamber, heating means provided in the circulation zone of the treatment medium, tentering means containing tensioning chains at least partially disposed outside of the treatment chamber as inlet means, said tentering means cooperating with the sieve drum means for the effective conveyance of the material being treated to said sieve drum means, and outlet means for removing the material being treated from the treatment chamber.

States Patent [191 Fleissner June 25, 1974 PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THETREATMENT OF MATERIAL LENGTHS [75] Inventor: Heinz Fleissner, Frankfurt,Germany [73] Assignee: Vepa AG, Basel, Switzerland [22] Filed: May 19,1970 [21] Appl. No.: 48,702

Related US. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 799,478, Feb. 14,1969, Pat. No. 3,605,280, and a continuation-in-part of Ser. No.654,728, July 20, 1967, Pat. No. 3,503,134.

Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Assistant Examiner-James C. YeungAttorney, Agent, or FirmCraig and Antonelli [5 7] ABSTRACT The presentdisclosure is directed to a process and apparatus for the treatment ofmaterials which comprises a heat-insulated treatment chamber, aplurality of sieve drum means subjected to a suction draft rotatablydisposed within said treatment chamber, fan means for producing asuction draft and for circulating the treatment medium in said treatmentchamber, heating means provided in the circulation zone of the treatmentmedium, tentering means containing tensioning chains at least partiallydisposed outside of the treatment chamber as inlet means, said tenteringmeans cooperating with the sieve drum means for the effective conveyanceof the material being treated to said sieve drum means, and outlet meansfor removing the material being treated from the treatment chamber.

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Inventor PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE TREATll [ENT OF MATERIAL LENGTHSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a division ofapplication Ser. No. 799,478, filed Feb. 14, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No.3,605,280 and a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No.654,728, July 20, 1067, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,134.

The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for thetreatment of material lengths, especially textile material lengths, suchas woven and knitted fabrics, nonwovens, tufteds, etc., with a treatmentmedium, for example steam, air or steam-air mixtures. The apparatus ofthe present invention comprises a heat -insulated housing containing asthe conveying element at least one sieve means subjected to a suctiondraft, preferably a sieve drum, one or several fans for producing asuction draft and for circulating the treatment medium and a heatingunit. A tentering section with tension chains are arranged at leastpartially outside of the housing as an inlet and feeding unit in such away that the material is guided in a width-tentered condition until itis fed and/or passed to the sieve means subjected to a suction draft.

It has been suggested to combine a tentering section with a device inwhich sieve means subjected to a suction draft, preferably sieve drums,are used as conveying elements. Thus use of the flow-through principleand the material guidance on sieve means during the treatment processoffers substantial advantages when compared with a treatment on a tenterframe only. Advantages of using the flow-through principle on sievemeans are the extremely short treatment times and a very uniformtreatment effect. Furthermore, the material guidance on sieve meansduring the treatment results in a more uniform appearance of the goods,espcially if fixation processes and knit goods are involved. By using atentering section the material can be pretentered to a certain width,creases caused by centrifuging can be removed and a good shrinkage ofthe material can be ensured if the material is, for example, steamed onthe tentering section.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to avoidthe prior art disadvantages in the treatment of materials, for example,textile materials.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedprocess and apparatus for the treatment of textile materials which isvery economical and substantially maintenance free.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedprocess and apparatus for the treatment of textile materials wherein apredetermined final width of the materail being treated can be ensured.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide animproved process and apparatus for the treatment of textile materialswherein the material being treated is held and guided while it is beingconveyed on the surface of the sieve drum means at least until thematerial has been heated up to the fixation temperature.

Otheobjects and further scope of applicability of the present inventionwill become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter; itshould be understood, however, that the detailed description andspecific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

Pursuant to the present invention, it has been found that theabove-mentioned disadvantages may be eliminated and a much improvedprocess and apparatus for the treatment of materials, for example,textile materials may be obtained by holding the material on tensioningchains and, at the same time, on the conveying means, for example sievedrum means subjected to a suction draft and by drawing the treatmentmedium through the material being treated at least until said materialhas been heated up to the fixation temperature. This process can, forexample, be carried out on an apparatus in which the tensioning chainsof the tentering means are passed at least around the first sieve drumsubjected to a suction draft. It is advantageous if the sieve drum whichis embraced by the tensioning chains is arranged above the subsequentsieve drum. For this purpose, it is desirable to use the well knownsieve drum dryer with staggered sieve drums. In this case, the firstsieve drum should be situated in the upper row and should be embraced bythe tensioning chains.

However, it is also possible to provide a common tentering means(section) and to correlate this tentering section to the sieve drum ofthe upper row, that is, the textile length is passed from the tenteringsection to the first sieve drum of the upper row. Furthermore, it ispossible to arrange the sieve drums in one vertical row. In this case,it is advantageous if the tentering section is preferably correlated tothe drum at the bottom or to the drum at the top of the row.Furthermore, it is advantageous to arrange tentering section tangentialto the sieve drum at the bottom of the row or to the sieve drum at thetop of the row. With such an arrangment, it is expedient to have the twoends of the tentering section extend out of the heat-insulated housing.The bearings of the deflector wheels for the tensioning chains are thuslocated outside the hot treatment atmosphere. With such an arrangement,the wear is substantially reduced and the maintenance is considerablyfacilitated.

If the tentering section is correlated to the sieve drum at the top ofthe row, it can be advantageously arranged near the point of materialpassage from one drum to the next drum, so that the top sieve drum issubstantially embraced by the material being processed. In order toavoid material shrinkage, it is expedient to provide, for thisarrangement, a pinning-out and transfer member between the tenteringsection and the sieve drum, for example a suction roller or disk whichmay be fitted with spikes. Also, if the tentering section is arrangedbeneath the sieve drum at the bottom of the row, a more favorablecontact of the material being treated with this sieve drum may beachieved if a sieve roller is provided as a pinning-out and transfermember between the tentering section and the sieve drum. This sieveroller may be subjected to a suction draft or to a positive pressure.

With an apparatus in which the tensioning chains are passed around thefirst sieve drum, the material length may be lifted out of the pins ofthe tensioning chains by the suction draft of the subsequent sieve drum.To render this possible, it is suggested to pass the material from thesieve drum which is embraced by the tensioning chains to the subsequentsieve drum at approximately the closest point of approach of these twodrums.

In order to avoid wear of the tensioning chains and a tightening of thetensioning chains which are passed around the drums, it is furthermoresuggested to guide the tensioning chains in the zone around the sievedrums in rings which are pivotably mounted. The rings may be mounted sothat they can be axially adjusted by means of threaded spindles, and sothat the setting of the respective desired working width is readilyeffected. it is advantageous if the guides of the tensioning chains inthe rings have U-shaped cross sections, with the open side of the Upointing outwards. For the rings proper, roller bearings are desired,said roller bearings being arranged on mounting supports on the threadedspindles. For axial guidance and for taking up axial tension load, it issuggested to correlate to each mounting support at least one additionalroller bearing, preferably an additional pair of roller bearings.

It is expressly pointed out that the present invention cannot only berealized with vertical revolving tensioning chains, but that also atentering section with horizontal chain returns can be used. In thiscase, it is only necessary to arrange between the tentering section andthe subsequent sieve drum a pinning-out and transfer member, for exampledisks or rings which may possibly be provided with holding elementsand/or pins. It is also possible to use a tentering section with clipchains and- /or a combined tentering section which can be optionallyfitted with pins or with clips.

It is also advantageous to arrange the tensioning chains below or abovethe sieve drums and to pass the material lengths to the adjacent sievedrum preferably at the lowest respectively, the highest point of thesieve drum, possibly with the help of a pinning-out and transfer member.

Since the material is drawn out of the pins at the first sieve drum andheated up to the treatment temperature, the material tends to shrink onthat sieve drum, particularly in fixation processes. In order to ensurea good material passage and a minimum shrinkage, it is suggested toprovide a fan means at least at the first sieve drum, said fan meansproviding a means for setting suction drafts of varying power, forexample by varying the speed of the fan wheel. in this way, the suctiondraft can be adapted to the particular material to be processed.

However, in some cases it is more advantageous to hold the material ontensioning chains during the whole treatment process. In order to permitthe use ofthe flow through principle and sieve drums in these cases, itis suggested to design the tensioning chains in such a way that they canbe moved to all sides, at least within certain limits, and if severalsieve drums are used, to pass the tensioning chains around the sievedrums in such a way that only one side of the material rests on thesieve drums during the treatment. It is thus possible to process pilegoods, for example tufted carpets, on such sieve drums without damagingor pressing the pile.

Above all, with the latter device, it is advantageous if the tensioningchains are passed out of the heatinsulated housing at the inlet and atthe discharge end of the apparatus. The pinning-up and pinning-out areasare thus easily accessible and also the bearings for the deflectingelements of the tensioning chains are not exposed to the hot treatmentatmosphere.

Especially for devices which are intended for materials which developehigh shrinkage forces during the treatment process, it is advantageous,if the tensioning chains are guided during the passage from one sievedrum to the next sieve drum and if the guides are mounted in such a waythat they can be adjusted in the direction of the drum axis. With such adevice it is also possible to pass the tensioning chains almostcoinpletely around the sieve drums and to provide at each sieve drum aguide disk, a guide wheel or the like, for each tensioning chain at thepoint of passage between two sieve drums.

Especially for fixation processes, it is advantageous if the material ischilled while still held by the tensioning chains. For this purpose, itis suggested to arrange a cooling device outside the heat-insulatedhousing at the discharge end above and/or below the material which isheld between the tensioning chains. The chain return may be effectedoutside the heat-insulated housing or beneath a sheet which is providedin the treatment chamber of the housing.

For high material speeds and, above all, for treatment processes such asfor the thermosol dyeing process and for curing processes which requirean extended dwelling time under the respective treatment temperatures,it is suggested to use a device which is provided in the housing on theinlet side with at least one sieve drum which is penetrated by thetreatment medium, followed by a materail accumulator whichadvantageously consists of two rows of rollers. The material accumulatormay also be followed by at least one additional sieve drum means as wellas a tentering section at the discharge end of the apparatus. in such adevice the material can be heated to the respective and requiredtreatment temperature in a shock-like manner and uniformly over theworking width and can then dwell in the material accumulator. By meansof the subsequent sieve drum, possible temperature differences occurringin the material accumulator can be corrected. Subsequently, andespecially in fixation processes, the textile material can be tenteredin the tentering section to the respective required width. In many casesit is advantageous to correlate to the sieve drum at the inlet end ofthe treatment chamber, to the material accumulator and if a sieve drumis provided at the discharge end, also to said sieve drum, a temperaturecontrol which operates independent of the others so that the treatmenttemperatures can be reduced by degrees. In this way, a slightly highertemperature can be established for the sieqe drum at the inlet end thenfor the material accumulator in order to reduce the heating-up period.At high operating speeds, the textile material is then not heated up tothe pre-set temperature of the treatment medium on the sieve drum butonly to the temperature which prevails in the material accumulator.

As already mentioned, it is desirable if the material is cooled downafter fixation processes. In a device in which the tentering section isarranged at the discharge end of the apparatus, it is suggested toarrange a cooling roller above the tentering section in order to achievea shock-like cooling down of the material. This roller may servesimultaneously as a pinning-out roller.

Especially in the case of large working widths of, for example, about 3to 5 meters, and if materials are handled which are susceptible totensile stress, it is desirable to associate with the tentering sectionat least one revolving endless supporting element. The supportingelement may consist of cords or ribbons which are arrnaged at a distancefrom each other and which, as seen in the direction of material passage,may be guided at an obtuse angle to each other, preferably at thematerial-supporting side. However, it is also possible to correlate awide supporting belt to the tensioning chains. The width of thesupporting belt should be larger than the maximum tensioning width.

For a device in which the tensioning chains are passed around at leastone sieve drum, it is desirable to design the supporting belt as awire-mesh belt and to pass the supporting belt also around the sievedrum. However, for a device in which a tentering section precedes thefirst sieve drum and in which the tensioning chains are not passedaround the sieve drum, it may be advantageous if the supporting elementis at leaspartially passed around at least one sieve drum. By such anarrangement of the supporting element, an effective passage of thematerial to the sieve drum is always ensured. Since with such anarrangement the material is held and guided between the drum and thesupporting element, the supporting element helps to prevent materialshrinkage during the heating-up process.

Furthermore, it is desirable if the supporting element is subjected to asuction draft in the area in which the material in pinned out, forexample by correlating a sieve roller subjected to a suction draft tothe supporting element in that area. By the suction draft the materialis lifted out of the pins and, at the same time, it is prevented fromshrinking until it is passed to the subsequent drum. Also, it isadvantageous to design the supporting element in such a way that it canbe temporarily driven at a higher or a slower speed than the tensioningchains. This is possible, for example, by the use of an overridingclutch. By the higher or slower speed of the supporting element ascompared wth the tensioning chains, weft distortions or diagonaldistortions in the material can be compensated for.

The arrange of a belt-type supporting element offers another advantage,that is, if this belt is arranged and designed accordingly, it may serveas a feeding unit for tubular, ribbon or hank-type materials as well asfor flock and for several lengths of fabric. However, if such a designof the supporting element is difficult to con nect with the apparatus,it is also possible to correlate another materail feeding unit to onesieve drum subjected to a suction draft, preferably to the sieve drumwhich takes over the material length from the tentering section. Thismaterial feeding unit is then arranged at another level than thetensioning chains, preferably at a higher or a lower level. This secondmaterial feeding unit may be provided with at least one roller orconveyor belt. It is of advantage if the conveyor belt of the secondmaterial feeding unit is arranged in such a way that it can be swivelledand if the swivelling axis is provided preferably at the treatmentchamber. With such a design, the conveyor belt may be swivelled upwardsor downwards so that it does not hamper the operation of the tenteringsection.

It is also possible to arrange a platform above the tentering sectionand to set up the material feeding unit and/or auxiliary devices such asa hopper feeder, padder or the like on this platform. If a secondmaterial feeding unit is-utilized, it is advantageous to correlate tothe sieve drums subjected to a suction draft a baffle which optionallyinterrupts the suction draft in the zone between the first and thesecond material inlet or which subjects this zone to a suction draft. Itis this possible to subject this area of the sieve drum to the suctiondraft if material is passed over this area or to interrupt the suctiondraft if this area of the sieve drum is not covered with the material.This optional baffling of this area of the sieve drum may for example beachieved by mounting the bafile which is provided for this purpose inthe sieve drum in such a way that it can be rotated. Altemately, twoperforated or slotted baffle sheets may be provided, at least one ofwhich is mounted so that it can be displaced or rotated with respect tothe other sheet. Thus the perforations of the two sheets can be openedor covered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will become morefully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and theaccompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only andthus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein,

FIG. 1 shows the apparatus of the present invention wherein staggeredsieve drums are utilized;

FIG. 2 discloses the apparatus of the present invention wherein thesieve drums are arranged in one vertical row;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention similar to that ofFIG. 2 with a different arrangement of the tentering means;

FIG. 4 shows the apparatus of the present invention wherein thetensioning chains of the tentering means are passed around the firstsieve drum;

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention in longitudinalsections;

FIG. 6 is a cross section of the mounting support and the guide means ofone tensioning chain around the sieve drum of the apparatus according toFIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the mounting support shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 inwhich the guide ring of the tensioning chain is supported;

FIG. 8 shows a longitudinal section of another embodiment of theapparatus of the present invention wherein horizontal pin returns areutilized;

FIG. 9 shows the point of passage from the tentering section to thesieve drum in an apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the apparatus according to FIG. 8 clearlyshowing the horizontal pin return in the tentering section;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus of the presentinvention in which the tensioning chains are passed around several sievedrums;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus of the presentinvention, similar to that of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus of the presentinvention wherein the tentering section is provided at the discharge endof the treatment chamber;

FIGS. l4, l5 and 16 are longitudinal sections of several embodiments ofthe apparatus of the present invention using a supporting belt; and

FIGS. 17 and 18 show two embodiments of the present invention wherein asecond material feeding unit is utilized.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views todesignate like parts, the apparatus of the present invention accordingto FIG. 1 shows material lengths 1 being passed over rollers 2 whilebeing spread at the same time. The material is then taken over by pinchains 5 in the same way as with a common tenter frame. In the apparatusaccording to FIG. 1, pin chains with a vertical pin return are shown.However, it is also possible to use chains with horizontal chainreturns. Also, clip chains can be used. The material 1 is pinned up bymeans of lateral brush rolls 6.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises a heat-insulatedhousing 11 which is subdivided by means of a lengthwise partition 12into a treatment chamber 14 and into a fan chamber 13, in the same wayas the standard sieve drum dryers. In the treatment chamber, sieve drums9 subjected to a suction draft are arranged. In the fan chamber 13 a fan(not shown) is correlated to the side of each sieve drum, said fandrawing the treatment medium out of the sieve drum and returning it intothe treatment chamber at the top and at the bottom of said chamber.Above and below the sieve drums 9 sieve sheets 17 are provided forequalizing the treatment medium flow. At the inlet of the housing 11 asuction roller 25 is provided as a pinning-out element. At the outside,this suction roller 25 is sealed against the housing by means of a seal20. In the suction roller 25 at the side which is not covered with thematerial being treated, a baffle is arranged which interrupts thesuction draft at this side of the suction roller. Similar baffles 15 arealso provided in the sieve drums 9. The baffle 15 in the suction roller25 is provided with seals at the two ends as well as with a seal Thisseal 20' is directly correlated to an outer baffle 18. A similar seal 20is also provided in the first sieve drum 9 opposite to the outer bafile19. By using baffle 19, the hot treatment medium is prevented fromcoming into contact with the pin chains and the deflect wheels of thepin chains. It is of advantage if the baffles 18 and 19 are alsoheat-insulated, so that heat losses are avoided.

The discharge end of the apparatus is sealed by means of a pair ofrollers 35. Instead of a pair of rollers however, also a slide or aconveyor belt may be utilized.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 2 and 3 are of similar design as theapparatus according to FIG. 1, but in these devices the sieve drums 9are arranged in one vertical row. In the apparatus according to FIG. 2the pin chains 5 extend directly to the bottom sieve drum 9, so that thematerial I is lifted out of the pin chains 5 by the suction draft of thebottom sieve drum 9. As a discharge element a conveyor belt 39 iscorrelated to the top sieve drum 9.

In the apparatus according to FIG. 3 the pin chains extend out of thehousing 11 at both sides so that the bearing and deflector units for thepin chains are not exposed to the heat. As in the device according toFIG. 1, a suction roller is provided in this device which lifts thematerial 1 out of the pins and passes it to the first sieve drum 9.Since, in this embodiment of the present invention, the suction rolleris located in the hot treatment medium atmosphere, the material isalready heated almost to the treatment temperature by the suction draftof the suction roller 25. However, it is also possible to arrange thesuction roller outside the hot treatment atmosphere. At the dischargeend of this device a slide 36 is arranged to which a roller 45 iscorrelated.

In the apparatus according to FIG. 4, pin chains 5 are passed around thefirst sieve drum 9. This offers the advantage that the material 1 isheld by the tensioning chains during the heating-up period and/or duringthe treatment on the first sieve drum 9, so that material shrinkage issubstantially avoided. The sieve drum 9 which is embraced by thetensioning chain issituated above the other sieve drums which arearranged in one horizontal row. Using this arrangement a relativelylarge wrap of the first and the second sieve drum is obtained. Thislarge wrap renders it possible to dry a textile material to' a certainresidual mositure content of for example about 10 percent on the first.sieve drum and to heat it to the fixation temperature on said firstsieve drum. The same applies to curing and thermosoling processes. Inthis device the material need not be stretched in width beyond thedesired final width. Since the material is held by the pin chains duringthe heating-up and thus the shrinking stage. The shrinkage forces of thefiber which has been heated up to the fixation temperature are not greatenough to overcome the force of the suction draft of the sieve drumwhich holds the material being treated.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 5 to 7 is of similar design as theaforementioned devices. The pin chains 5 are guided around the sievedrum 9 in rings 47 which are pivotably mounted and which can be adjustedaxially by mounting supports 48 using threaded spindles 49. In thisembodiment of the present invention the material inlet and the materialdischarge for the material length l are provided on the same side of theconveying means so that the sieve drum 9 may be substantially embracedby the material being treated. Upon leaving the housing 11 the materiallength l is pinned out and passed beneath the treatment chamber to aplating device 50 which folds the material length 1 into a container 51.

At one or both faces of the sieve drum a blower (not shown) iscorrelated which draws the treatment medium out of the sieve drum andthus produces a negative pressure in the sieve drum 9, said negativepressure causing a uniform and intensive penetration of the treatmentmedium through the material length within the range of the sieve drum.Each mounting support 48 which is adjustably mounted on a threadedspindle 49 is provided with two roller bearings 52 which support thering 47. For the axial guidance, two further rolls 53 are provided ineach mounting support 48 which engage the vertical portion of the ring47. Chain links 54 are special links and, according to the presentinvention, designed in such a way that pin bars 55 with hooked pins 56are situated at the same level as the sieve drum jacket.

In the apparatus according to FIGS. 8 to 10, a tentering section 4 withclip chains 57 is provided with a horizontal clip chain return which isarranged in front of the treatment chamber or housing 11. The inlet 12of the tentering section is designed similar to that of thecorresponding tenter frames. In order to prevent the material fromshrinking in its width when the clip chains are opened and before it istaken over by the subsequent sieve drum 9, a disk 58 which is fittedwith pins is correlated above the material to each clip chain 57, saiddisk holding the material 1 during passage from the clip chain 57 to thesieve drum 9. Of course, pin chains with horizontal chain returns canalso be used instead of clip chains. In order to prevent loss of the hottreatment medium, heat-insulated baffles 18 and 19 are arranged at theinlet and extend from the housing 11 near the sieve drum 9.

FIG. 9 shows in detail the point of passage between the tenteringsection 4 and the sieve drum 9. In this embodiment of the presentinvention the disks 58 are arranged beneath the material 1.

In the apparatus according to FIGS. 11 and 12, the pin chains 5 arepassed around several sieve drums 9. Also, here the pin chains 5 areguided around the sieve drum 9 in pivotably mounted rings 47. The rings47 are supported on threaded spindles 49 and are adjustable.

In the apparatus according to FIG. 11, pivotably mounted disks 59 areprovided on the threaded spindles 49 for guiding the pin chains 5between the sieve drums 9. The material 1 leaves the housing 11 and issubsequently cooled down by means of a cooling unit 60 while still beingheld in the pin chains 5. In this embodiment of the present inventionthe cooling unit consists of a jet box with an axial fan 61 and a fanmotor 62. The material 1 is then pulled from the pins by means of aroller 63.

The apparatus according to FIG. 12 is of similar design as that of FIG.11. The same elements are therefore marked with the same numerals.However, in this device two disks 59 are correlated to the sieve drum 9,over which disks the pin chains are guided so that the sieve drum 9 ismore completely embraced by the material I. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, the baffles 15 may be dispensed with.

In the apparatus according to FIG. 13, the material 1 is passed over aninlet creel 33 and the material guide 34 to a pair of rollers 35. Thispair of rollers 35 renders it possible to overfeed the material 1 onto asieve drum 9 which is arranged in the treatment chamber 14 directly atthe inlet. The sieve drum 9 as well as the rollers 65 are accommodatedin a common heat-insulated housing 11. On the second sieve drum 9 behindthe rollers 65 as seen in the direction of material passage, thematerial 1 is again held by the suction draft and heated to a constanttemperature. From the sieve drum 9 the material I is passed in atensionless state to a tentering section 4 which partially extends intothe housing 11. Infrared radiators 37 are associated with the tenteringsection, said radiators being arranged above and below the material 1.Instead of infrared radiators, jet boxes may also be provided. Outsidethe housing 11 and above the material being treated, a jet box 38 isprovided wherein cold air is blown against the material 1 for coolingdown said material. As shown by the dash dash-dot line, another jet box38 may be provided below the material 1. Axial fans 61 with motors 62are provided in the jet boxes 38. Instead of these jet boxes 38, acooling roller may also be associated with the tentering section 4 forcooling down the material. The cooling roller may be arranged above thetensioning chains and serve simultaneously as a pinning-out roller.

Subsequently, the material may be batched or plated.

FIGS. l4, l5 and 16 are longitudinal sections of several embodimentsusing sieve drum devices with an inlet tentering section. In theapparatus according to FIG. 14, a suction roller 25 is arranged at theinlet of the housing 11 for passing the material 1 from the pin chains 5to the first sieve drum 9. Between the tensioning chains a conveyor belt63 is arranged as a supporting element. Also, in the apparatus accordingto FIGS. 15 and 16, a conveyor belt 63 is correlated to the tenteringsection. However, with this tentering section the material 1 is guidedat the bottom side of the pin chains 5. In these embodiments of theinvention the conveyor belt 63 extends beyond the maximum tenteringwidth. In the apparatus according to FIG. 15 a suction roller 25 isagain correlated to the first sieve drum 9 for lifting the material 1out of the pin chains 5 and for simultaneously deflecting thematerial 1. Also, with this suction roller 25 the suction draft isinterrupted by a baffle 15 at that portion of said roller which is notcovered with the material being treated. In the apparatus according toFIG. 16 the conveyor belt 63 is passed around part of the first sievedrum 9, so that the material l is held between the conveyor belt 63 andthe sieve drum 9 during the heating-up process. The embodiments of thepresent invention according to FIGS. 15 and 16 offer the furtheradvantage that several tubes of materials or hank-type materials andeven loosefibrous stock can be fed to and processed on the sieve drums.

The apparatus according to FIGS. 17 and 18 are of similar design as thepreviously described devices. However, these two embodiments areequipped with a second material feeding unit 64. This material feedingunit according to the apparatus of FIG. 17 comprises a pair of rollers35. With this device tubular material 1' is fed from a pile on aplatform 65. The tubular material 1 is drawn off the pile over a roller66.

In the apparatus according to FIG. 18 the second material feeding unit64 is provided with a conveyor belt 39 which, as shown by an arrow 67,can be swivelled upwards. A roller 44 is correlated to the conveyor belt39 at the housing 11 for sealing purposes. Tubular material as well ashank-type material and loose-fibrous stock can be fed to the first sievedrum 9 on this conveyor belt 39. The range between the point of materialpassage from the pin chains 5 and the second materal feeding unit 64can, at option, be subjected to a suction draft or the suction draft maybe interrupted by means of a baffle 68 which can be rotated.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be apparent to one skilled in the art areintended to be included.

It is claimed:

1. An apparatus for the treatment of materials which comprises aheat-insulated treatment chamber, a plurality of sieve drum meanssubjected to a suction draft rotatably disposed and arranged in serieswithin said treatment chamber, fan means for producing said suctiondraft and for circulating a treatment medium in said treatment chamber,heating means provided in the circulation zone of the treatment chamber,tentering means including tensioning chains at least partially disposedoutside of the treatment chamber, said tentering means being arrangedclosely adjacent to the first sieve drum means of said series, transfermeans for effecting conveyance of the material being treated from saidtentering means by a suction draft to said first sieve drum means, andoutlet means for removing the material being treated from the treatmentchamber.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sieve drum means are staggeredwith respect to each other in two rows and the tentering means isassociated with the first sieve drum means of the upper row.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said transfer means includes asuction roller provided between the tentering means and the sieve drummeans to facilitate the removal of the material being treated from thetentering means to the sieve drum means.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sieve drum means are arrangedin one vertical row and the tentering means is associated with the sievedrum means at the bottom.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the tentering means is disposedtangential to the first sieve drum means.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the tentering means is associatedwith the first sieve drum means in the vicinity of material passage fromsaid first sieve drum means to the next sieve drum means, therebyallowing the sieve drum means to be substantially embraced by thematerial being treated, and wherein said transfer means is providedbetween the first sieve drum means and the tentering means to facilitatethe transfer of said material between said means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the transfer means is a suctionroller.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the two end portions of thetentering means extends out of the heatinsulated housing, and .whereinthe transfer means is provided between the first sieve drum means andthe tentering means to facilitate the transfer of said material betweensaid means.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transfer means is a suctionroller.

10. A process for the treatment of materials which comprises introducinga continuous length of material in a stretched condition into the inletof a treatment chamber on a tentering means, conveying the materialthrough said chamber on the surfaces of a plurality of sieve drum meanssubjected to a suction draft and arranged in series within said chamber,said material being held to said sieve drum means by said suction draft,drawing a treatment medium around and through the material being treatedon said sieve drum means, and transferring said material from saidtentering means to said sieve drum means by means of an additionalsuction draft applied to said material.

11. The process of claim 10, wherein the materials being treated aretextile materials selected from the group consisting of woven andknitted fabrics, nonwovens and tufteds.

12. The process of claim 10, wherein said tentering means includestensioning chains having pins for bolding said material in a stretchedcondition and the material is lifted out of the pins of the tensioningchains by the additional suction draft of a suction roller placedadjacent to and between said first sieve drum means and said tenteringmeans.

13. The process of claim 10, wherein the material is alternatelyconveyed on the surfaces of more than one sieve drum means.

1. An apparatus for the treatment of materials which comprises aheat-insulated treatment chamber, a plurality of sieve drum meanssubjected to a suction draft rotatably disposed and arranged in serieswithin said treatment chamber, fan means for producing said suctiondraft and for circulating a treatment medium in said treatment chamber,heating means provided in the circulation zone of the treatment chamber,tentering means including tensioning chains at least partially disposedoutside of the treatment chamber, said tentering means being arrangedclosely adjacent to the first sieve drum means of said series, transfermeans for effecting conveyance of the material being treated from saidtentering means by a suction draft to said first sieve drum means, andoutlet means for removing the material being treated from the treatmentchamber.
 2. The apparatuS of claim 1, wherein the sieve drum means arestaggered with respect to each other in two rows and the tentering meansis associated with the first sieve drum means of the upper row.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein said transfer means includes a suctionroller provided between the tentering means and the sieve drum means tofacilitate the removal of the material being treated from the tenteringmeans to the sieve drum means.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesieve drum means are arranged in one vertical row and the tenteringmeans is associated with the sieve drum means at the bottom.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 3, wherein the tentering means is disposed tangentialto the first sieve drum means.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein thetentering means is associated with the first sieve drum means in thevicinity of material passage from said first sieve drum means to thenext sieve drum means, thereby allowing the sieve drum means to besubstantially embraced by the material being treated, and wherein saidtransfer means is provided between the first sieve drum means and thetentering means to facilitate the transfer of said material between saidmeans.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the transfer means is asuction roller.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the two end portionsof the tentering means extends out of the heat-insulated housing, andwherein the transfer means is provided between the first sieve drummeans and the tentering means to facilitate the transfer of saidmaterial between said means.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein thetransfer means is a suction roller.
 10. A process for the treatment ofmaterials which comprises introducing a continuous length of material ina stretched condition into the inlet of a treatment chamber on atentering means, conveying the material through said chamber on thesurfaces of a plurality of sieve drum means subjected to a suction draftand arranged in series within said chamber, said material being held tosaid sieve drum means by said suction draft, drawing a treatment mediumaround and through the material being treated on said sieve drum means,and transferring said material from said tentering means to said sievedrum means by means of an additional suction draft applied to saidmaterial.
 11. The process of claim 10, wherein the materials beingtreated are textile materials selected from the group consisting ofwoven and knitted fabrics, nonwovens and tufteds.
 12. The process ofclaim 10, wherein said tentering means includes tensioning chains havingpins for holding said material in a stretched condition and the materialis lifted out of the pins of the tensioning chains by the additionalsuction draft of a suction roller placed adjacent to and between saidfirst sieve drum means and said tentering means.
 13. The process ofclaim 10, wherein the material is alternately conveyed on the surfacesof more than one sieve drum means.